Warmth Of Ice
by Zefie Kirasagi
Summary: Everyone's favorite halfelf is turning fifteen. But even as he relishes in his newfound relationship and the festivities, a deadly accident will lead him to a choice which could change the world around him. Read and Review please!
1. Chapter 1

Hey all again. Told you I'd have more coming P

Here's chapter one of my new Gesea fiction, which will also be the first story in a short series of three!

Disclaimer: I don't own Genis, Presea, Tales of Symphonia, or any of it. Namco does.

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_**Warmth of Ice**_

_**A Gesea Fanfiction By Zefie Kirasagi**_

Genis Sage mumbled a bit in his sleep, rolling over. He **really** didn't want to get up now…he bumped into something soft. The soft object gave a short, tired sigh and rolled over itself.

And with a prompt squeak from one person and a gasp from another, Genis' lips met those of Presea Combatir, waking them both up almost instantly. There was a moment when the kiss remained, then they quickly broke apart, blushing like mad.

"I apologize Genis, I did not mean to-"

"I'm sorry Presea, I didn't mean to-"

Both of these sentences came out at once, and the two paused.

After a few moments, they both burst into quiet laughter. Presea, dressed in her pink sweats and a pink nightshirt, gave Genis a hug under the covers. Genis blushed, attempting to straighten his own nightshirt and at the same time keep his boxers from being accidentally pulled down by the hug, as well as trying to not to focus too much on Presea's B-cups pressing into his chest. Presea giggled, giving Genis a kiss on the lips.

"Happy Fifteenth Birthday Genis."

Genis smiled, the previous night's conversation coming back to him.

"Thank you Presea. For everything."

"Hehe…all I did was sleep next to you and give you a few kisses. You're the one who made it happen." Presea replied, sticking her tongue out. Genis smirked.

"Yeah…damn, imagine how bored I would have been this morning if I hadn't told you that last night."

Presea smiled.

"Say it again, Genis. Please?"

"I love you, Presea."

Presea hugged and kissed Genis again. After about a minute, she finally broke off, noticing Genis raising an eyebrow at the length of the kiss. Presea put on a look of mock indignation.

"If you can be fifteen and sleep with a girl, I can be fifteen and kiss a boy for a whole minute."

"Well, **technically** you're thirty-one."

Presea gave a mock gasp of horror.

"Oh my god, I'm a pedophile! I must lock myself away in a dark tower somewhere for the rest of my life!"

Genis laughed and ran his fingers through Presea's long hair.

"For all intensive purposes, you're fifteen, in love, and not a pedophile."

Presea grinned.

"Oh, I may yet be a pedophile."

With that, she ran a hand up one of Genis' legs. The leg twitched and Genis gasped. Presea giggled again. Genis grinned, and a second later, Presea gasped as Genis' hand squeezed her butt.

"Eek! Genis!"

"Happy birthday to me, heheh."

"You're evil!"

"Hey, you did that caressing-my-leg thing first!"

The two mock bickered back and forth for about a minute until Genis suddenly clamped his hand over Presea's mouth. Presea was about to protest, but she noticed Genis' long ears perk up and fell silent.

Footsteps could be heard outside the door, along with a feminine voice. Genis' eyes went wide.

"It's Raine! Hide quickly!" he whispered. Presea slipped out of the bed, tiptoeing across the room to the wardrobe and climbing inside, shutting the door behind her. Genis moved into a position like he was still sleeping and closed his eyes, regulating his breathing.

A second later, the door opened and Raine Sage stepped into the room.

"Genis Arabeus Sage, get up right now!"

Genis didn't move. Raine walked over to the bed and seized one of his long ears, gently pulling.

"Oww! Raine!"

"We had a missing person last night. Someone missing from their bed. Who do you think it was, **Genis?**"

Genis blinked, still wincing as Raine still had his ear. Literally.

"Umm…Colette? Sleepwalking maybe?"

"Ms. Combatir, as a matter of fact. And according to Zelos, there was an interesting chat between you two just before you retired to bed."

"Umm…you're believing Zelos?"

"Sheena confirmed the story too."

"Okay…so what's the story?"

"_**GENIS ARABEUS SAGE, DID YOU SLEEP WITH PRESEA?!**_"

"Ummm….yes…sort of…no wait, it's not what you think-owwowwowwowwRAINESTOPowwowwoww…"

Raine eventually let go of Genis' ear. Genis slumped back in the bed. Raine looked around the room.

"_**Where is she?**_"

"She…went out the window, up to the roof."

Raine rushed out of the room. Genis waited a few seconds, then slipped out of bed and headed for the wardrobe, opening the door.

He was swiftly knocked to the floor as Presea fell out into him, ending up on top of him on the floor. Genis tried to sit up slowly.

"Oww…it's my birthday, why are people falling into me or hitting me?"

"Sorry Genis…I was about to come out when you opened the door and I was kind of…umm…halfway out."

"Ok, ok…my fault. Come on, let's get downstairs so Lloyd and Colette will be between us and her."

The two stood, straightening their sleep clothes. Presea pulled two ribbons out of her pocket and tied her hair back into her two, signature pony tails-which now grew down a bit instead of just outwards. Presea glanced over at Genis.

"How will positioning ourselves opposite Raine with Lloyd and Colette in between prove beneficial to us?"

"You know them, if an accident can happen, it'll happen with them, and Raine'll be too focused on the accident to deal with us. Now I just have to figure out how to convince them we didn't do…you know."

"We could always say we did."

"And give Raine a heart attack? Besides, then I wouldn't be able to use the excuse 'we've never done it' in the future on that subject."

Presea gave Genis a playful shove as they headed downstairs to breakfast.

As the two entered the dining room, they were soundly surprised to be greeted by applause. Zelos, Sheena, and Lloyd were clapping, Zelos whistling a bit. Genis found himself nearly knocked over by a flying hug by Colette. Presea gently pried Colette of Genis.

"My man. You have one already."

There was some more laughter all around and Colette moved next to Lloyd. Genis spoke up.

"So to what do I owe this congratulations?"

Zelos answered.

"Not only are you now, fifteen, that wonderful age of love and magic, you, Brat, can now say with truth that you have slept with a girl!"

Zelos leaned in, as though about to consult in secret with Genis, but he kept speaking in his normal volume of voice.

"Sooooooo, what was she liiike?"

"I keep telling people: we didn't do that!"

Genis groaned as Sheena gave Zelos a whack upside his head. The five sat down to breakfast, which Regal brought into the room at about that moment. Consisting of bacon, sausage, scrambled and runny eggs, toast, fresh bananas, fresh squeezed orange juice, and corned beef hash, Genis had to admit that in this case, Regal had certainly cooked a better meal than Genis himself could have cooked.

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"Ahhh…that was great…"

Lloyd slumped backwards in his chair, a content smile on his face as he finished his fourth helping of breakfast. Genis sighed.

"I hope you're not planning on fifths, Lloyd."

Lloyd looked up.

"Huh? Why?"

"Cause they're mine!"

Genis quickly gave himself another serving of food and began eating. Lloyd groaned.

"I was going to eat that!"

"Da birffdah boy ghets it ffirft." Genis replied around a mouthful of food. Lloyd frowned as the others laughed. Presea lifted her napkin.

"Genis, you have some food on your cheek. Let me get it."

Presea swiped the bit of hash off Genis' cheek, which was a bright cherry color as everyone else, including Lloyd this time, laughed.

"Presea…don't treat me like a kid."

"Okay, Genis can be a big boy today."

Genis blushed even more indignantly as the table collectively laughed again.

"So…anyways…shut up Lloyd…what were you guys planning for today?" he asked.

Colette answered him. "We're going to Altamira for the day! Regal managed to get day passes for us to use the park, for free!"

Regal smiled slightly. "It was no trouble. Running the park gives quite a bit of leverage in these areas."

"So," Genis continued, "When are we leaving?"

"Right after breakfast, once Raine gets back from her rampage, and after you and Presea have washed up for the day-you slept a lot later than us, so we're already set."

Genis glanced at a wall clock and grimaced at the clear "11:27 AM" it read. Zelos grinned at Genis.

"Perhaps your little rosebud can help you get 'washed up' for the day!" he exclaimed. Within a few seconds, Genis, Sheena, and Presea had all whumped the back of Zelos' head. Needless to say, Zelos protested greatly.

"Heeeeey…I didn't say anything bad, just thought rosebud could help the brat with a shower or something…"

And then Raine rushed into the room, her angry face making the room go silent.

"_**GENIS-SAGE-YOU-SHOWERED-WITH-HER?!"**_

Sheena, Lloyd, and Colette quickly held the professor back as Genis grabbed Presea's hand and the two rushed off, Genis yelling at Zelos as he ran.

"Damn you, Wilder!"

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Well that's the first chapter. Read and Review folks! Chapter 2 is on its way!


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey all! Here's chapter two of the story for you! Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer-I don't own anything having anything to do with ToS.**_

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Once Genis and Presea had showered (separate showers, I assure you), they headed back downstairs to find that Raine had been consoled and explained of everything that had transpired.

She looked slightly less murderous.

Genis flopped onto the couch, Presea taking a seat next to him. She spoke up first.

"Professor Sage? I…I wish to apologize for the forwardness of my previous actions and to assure you that nothing of a non-adolescent following occurred between your younger brother and I."

Raine's eyes bored into Presea's for a few seconds. Then she replied.

"Good. Then make sure it doesn't happen in the future."

Genis smirked. "Can't guarantee how far into the future that promise will go, sis…"

"Y-you shut up Genis! You're still a child and you don't have the maturity to make that kind of deci…"

She trailed off, as though recognizing her own words from somewhere else. Which she did-it had been a few years back she had said something similar to someone Genis and Presea knew she had loved.

Life is full of irony.

Only a few seconds into the silence, there was a sudden flash of blue light from the center of the room. Genis started, looking at the magical circle that had just appeared in the middle of the room. A few seconds later, a small wrapped package appeared in the middle of the circle, which faded just afterwards.

After a few more seconds, Presea went over to the package and read a small tag on the side.

"It's for you Genis."

Genis stood up and headed over to the package, just as the rest of the group was entering the room. Genis read the tag out loud.

"To Genis Arabeus Sage, From Kratos Aurion."

As Genis opened the gift, a small hologram of Kratos appeared from a miniature projector attached to the package.

"Greetings, and happy birthday Genis. I'm sending this through the teleporter in the hopes that it reaches you all safely. I also assume that you are all present, since it is a special occasion. Genis, the gift inside the package is for you. It is a custom-made whip, carved from mithril using Cruxis technology. I've…had a lot of time to craft it. It is intended to replace your kendama in battle, as I have no doubt your old weapon is worn. The whip is made with magic, so its use will be like second nature to you from the moment you wield it, should that need ever arise. Also, at your will, it can harden into a straight line, for use as a rapier. The weapon is also a catalyst for magical spells, so your spell casting time should decrease considerably.

"Also, I have another message for the group at large, which I hope will be…perhaps not well received, but at least accepted. I am returning to the planet. Derris Kharlan's mana flow has been directed and contained within a special exsphere that I found in one of the cargo bays of Welgaia. My plan is to allow the mana to seep into the planet once I return, giving it…a new lease on life, you could say. Also, as Lloyd will no doubt be wondering, I have destroyed all of Derris Kharlan's exsphere's, so that the souls inside them may pass on to whatever world lies beyond ours. The only ones left is the one containing the mana and my own.

"I should arrive back on the planet within two days of this arriving, if all goes well. I…am unsure of the date or time anymore, so I cannot give an exact moment of arrival. I apologize for this.

"I hope I will find you all in good health.

"Also, to the Professor, I wish to add that I am sorry for my past words and that I hope she will still accept me.

See you all soon."

The recording ended. There was a short silence.

Then a few cheers went up-Lloyd hugged Colette, Raine broke down into joyful tears, Regal smiled, Sheena hugged Colette and Lloyd, Zelos grinned his usual grin, and Genis and Presea moved to look closer at the package. Genis opened the package, tossing the crude wrapping paper aside, and withdrawing the weapon.

"Wow."

From its midnight-black handle, to the silvery metallic whip end, the whip was a finely crafted piece of work. Genis stood, grasping it. Presea stood back, and the others watched for a moment. Genis gasped lightly, as though in realization, then quickly spun the whip in several short but elaborate whip-slashes, moving in a sort of graceful dance. Suddenly the whip became solid and straight as Genis moved in a quick series of thrusts and cuts with its point. Genis smirked as he stopped.

"Nice."

He suddenly pointed the handle at a candelabrum on the kitchen table in the next room and his pupils glowed a translucent orange. The whip became straight and rigid, and a single fireball shot out, lighting each candle precisely. There were a few short whistles from the group. Genis smiled, letting the whip go limp. It slowly snaked its way around his left arm like a coiling-armor and remained still in a short vambrace-shape.

"Mmhmm…definitely better than the kendama."

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A few minutes later, the group had boarded the Reihards and headed southwest towards Altamira. Zelos whooped as he did a few barrel rolls and loops on his-most of the group hadn't use a Reihard since the World Regeneration journey, save for Lloyd and Colette. Raine watched Zelos spinning, her face a slight pasty color.

"Zelos…do you mind not doing that?"

Zelos pulled out of another dive, grinning madly as he spun around Raine's Reihard rapidly (A/N: try saying that three times fast ), causing her to scream, despite there being no real danger. Sheena pulled up next to Zelos and reached over, giving him a whack on the head.

"She said _don't. _So _don't._"

"Oww…okay, okay…yeesh…"

Meanwhile, Genis was toying with his new weapon. The whip was very active, moving as if directed by his thoughts. At the moment, it was coiled around his arm like a pet snake, but it soon slithered around his shoulders, then his chest, down past his waist, around his left leg, finally stopping in a loose coil around his ankle. Genis thought-moved the whip back up and had it wrap around the handles of the Reihard, forming into a loose connector bar between the two handles. Genis put one hand on the bar formed from his whip and used it to turn the Reihard a bit. It moved fluidly and instantly. Genis looked over at Presea.

"Look! One hand!"

Presea, on the next Reihard over, giggled.

"Don't show off too much, Genis."

Soon after, a short gust of frigid air told them they were approaching the Flanoir airspace. Zelos loudly complained over the wind.

"Why'd we have to fly over Flanoir?! I'm freezing…my arms are freezing, my chest is freezing…"

Genis' ears suddenly perked up. Something was lowly roaring in the distance, but he couldn't make it out over Zelos' complaints.

"Hey Zelos, can it for a second!"

"I will not 'can it'! My legs are frozen…I think Zelos Jr is freezing…"

Genis turned his head suddenly, the roar now much louder.

And closer.

"Zelos, shut up!"

"Why should I?! Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean you can boss me around…"

Genis let the whip slip into his fist as he yelled over Zelos' voice.

"Wyverns!"

The warning came barely two seconds before a flight of wild Ice Wyverns was upon them. The creatures screeched through the air as Genis rapidly spun his Reihard out of the way. The others soon followed suit. Raine was already chanting a light spell. Zelos had drawn the Last Fencer. Sheena hung back, preparing to summon one of her two remaining summon spirits. Lloyd had one sword handle in his mouth and the other in his hand as he turned towards the Wyverns. Colette and Regal had pulled back slightly, Regal focusing on the possibility of using Healer, Colette focusing on her angel magic. Presea, meanwhile, followed Genis in formation, drawing her Gaia Cleaver from the modified Wing Pack at her waist.

The Wyverns turned to make another pass. Genis pointed forwards at the, the whip straightening into a line.

"Spiral Flare!"

A burst of spiraling flames shot out of the whip's tip, quickly blasting a hole in the center of the small flight of Wyverns. A hole which, a second later, Presea sped through, hacking another Wyvern apart. Zelos wasn't far behind, chopping the wings off another Wyvern.

Genis spun as he heard a short scream. Presea's axe was spinning away towards the icy continent below, and Presea was sending her Reihard into a flurry of barrel rolls, trying to evade two Wyverns. Genis aimed at the falling axe.

"Cyclone!"

A gust of air shot up from under the axe, propelling it high into the air, above the fight, in a path where Presea could easily catch it. Genis turned back towards Presea, sending a swarm of fireballs after the Wyvern trailing her. Most connected, and though they were weak spells, it got the monster's attention off Presea.

And onto Genis.

Genis straightened the whip and sped towards the approaching creature, holding the point out as though it were a lance in a deadly joust.

"GREEEEEKK!"

The Wyvern screeched as it was impaled and summarily tossed aside to fall a long, certainly deadly fall.

Presea reached out to grab the handle of her axe as it fell towards her outstretched hand.

And with a sudden mixture of yowls, two Wyverns slammed into her Reihard.

Time seemed to slow as Genis spun, seeing Presea falling. He made to turn the Reihard, but he could see by halfway through the move that he wouldn't be able to reach her in time.

So he did what he could. Raine suddenly yelled from the other side of the battle.

"GENIS, NO!"

And then he jumped.

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_**Hehe…soz for mini-cliffy. Next chapter coming soon.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hope you're all still on the edges of your seats, because here comes chapter three!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Thanks.**_

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"Ugh…"

Presea slowly woke up, groaning a bit. She slowly took in her surroundings. She was lying on something very soft, in what looked like an ice cavern. There was a vicious windy blizzard raging in the dark of night just outside the cavern's mouth, about thirty feet away. A small fire was burning a few feet from her. Presea sat up, looking down. She had been sleeping on a thick, dark red cloak of some kind. A Flare Cape, perhaps?

"Wait, that's mine…but I didn't pull that out..."

"Oh good, you're awake."

Presea spun towards the voice. Genis was leaning against the wall a few feet away. He had a few cuts and scratches, and the tips of his hair on one side were a slight charred black color. His whip was curled around his wrist; he was also shivering, but seemed to be attempting to hide it. Presea stood up and moved to him quickly, looking over his wounds.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I was more worried about you, but I think you just fainted during the fall."

"I wasn't scared!"

"In your position, I'd have been scared."

Presea looked away.

"So where are we?"

"Somewhere on the south coast of Flanoiria. It's been about ten hours since the fall."

"And the others haven't showed up?"

Genis motioned to the raging storm outside the cavern.

"In this? It could be ages. They're probably in Flanoir right now, planning some kind of search plan."

Presea glanced at the charred ends of Genis' hairs. She reached up and ran her fingers along one of the hairs.

"How did…"

"I softened the fall with an Eruption and a Cyclone mixed together. It worked, but I almost fried us in the process."

Genis shivered again. Presea gathered up the warm cloak off the floor and wrapped him in it.

"Where's _your_ cloak?" she asked.

"Eheheh…well, my wing pack was on the Reihard. I only had yours to work with."

Presea suddenly gave an involuntary shiver. It _was_ colder than she'd expected once she noticed it. Genis reached out and pulled her close to him, wrapping the magically-warmed cloak around them both. Presea blushed at the close contact, but smiled at the warmth. The two sat down by the fire, which Genis fed with a bit of magic.

They sat there for a long time, close to each other, warmly wrapped in the cloak.

Eventually, the scene was interrupted by a low rumbling. Genis grinned nervously.

"Guess I used up a lot of energy on spells today, 'cause I am starving."

Presea reached into her wing pack, looking for anything edible.

"Umm…I don't have anything…we'll probably have to hunt."

She made to get up, but Genis stopped her.

"I'll do it, you still don't have your axe, remember?"

He wrapped the cloak around Presea and chanted a bit, allowing a light red aura to surround him.

"I'll be back in a few minutes."

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Presea had to admit, despite its hard exterior, Ice Spider meat wasn't bad at all. Genis had cut away the exoskeleton, and soon had the juicy meat inside roasting over the fire. It soon was ready to eat.

"Mmm…you know…funny as it sounds, it tastes a lot like bugbear meat." Presea said.

Genis ate another few bites, smiling. "Sure does. Better than Raine's cooking anyways."

Both laughed at this. Genis looked out at the storm that still raged outside.

"I hope this storm stops soon. It was hard enough to find an Ice Spider. If this storm gets any worse, the Slivers might go for shelter."

The implication was clear-the cavern was plenty big enough for one of the monstrous Sliver worms to attempt to take up residence.

Genis took another bite of the meat.

"Well, if this storm lets up by tomorrow, we should try and figure out exactly where on the continent we are. Maybe we can walk back to Flanoir."

Presea nodded, gulping down another chunk of meat.

"Genis…I did mean to ask…do you have any ideas on what we'll do during the night to keep any monsters away from the cave?"

Genis responded by turning towards the cave entrance and letting his whip slide into his hand. He chanted lightly, then spoke the activation phrase.

"Icicle!"

Several short icicles grew out of the ground at the cave mouth, effectively creating a gate of ice to seal off the entrance. Presea sighed.

"Genis Sage, the man of a thousand talents."

Genis smirked, then leaned over close to Presea, and gently kissed her lips. As he pulled back, Presea's cheeks glowed a bright red color. Genis grinned.

"Talent number one-thousand and one: can make Presea Combatir blush the color of a cherry."

"Genis!"

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By the next morning, the blizzard had slowed to a gentle snowfall. Genis had slipped his cloak on and eaten the last of the Ice Spider meat with Presea. As they finished their breakfast, Genis looked out at the snow.

"We should try and head out of here today. If the blizzard starts up again, even if the Slivers _don't_ show up, everything else will go for shelter."

Presea nodded. "And that means no more food."

"That, and I don't think either of us can really survive for long on Ice Spider meat. And I don't feel like trying to force down Penguinist."

Presea gulped. "That outcome does not appeal to my likings either."

Genis stood up, his whip slipping around his upper arm. Presea finished her portion of food, the stood next to him. After a few minutes of looking out at the snowy wasteland, they ventured out, heading in what they hoped was the right direction.

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After an hour, with Presea huddled in Genis' flame cape, they could easily say that they were lost. The wind was beginning to pick up again, which meant the blizzard couldn't be far behind. Genis looked around the seemingly endless white around them.

"I'm sorry Presea…"

"No, Genis…this is not your fault."

Presea huddled a bit closer to Genis to share in his warmth-the flame cape's power was beginning to wear down. Genis held Presea to him, looking around the wasteland again.

And then his blood seemed to freeze as a shrieking roar split the silence. Genis' ears seemed to twitch back as though cringing, and Genis winced. Presea looked up at him. "What is it Genis?"

"Sliver."

The roar came again, a sort of 'gryyyyaaaaarrrk', like a squeal and a roar fused together. It was easily attributable, Presea thought, to a sharp knife being dragged down a chalkboard.

"Can you tell how far away it is Genis? It sounded closer that time"

"No…but I can say this much…" Genis pointed out somewhere to the left. "It's over there somewhere."

"So what do we do?" Presea asked.

"Simple. We go _that _way." Genis pointed to his right. "Fast."

Within a few seconds, the two had set off at a quick pace away from the Sliver's cry. A few moments after that, they broke into a run as the screech came again, much closer. Presea looked over her should as they ran.

"Genis!"

Genis looked over his shoulder at Presea's yell. There, perhaps fifty feet away, bearing down on them rapidly, was a monstrous grey worm, with thousands of teeth protruding from its mouth.

A Sliver.

"Run faster, Presea!"

Genis let his whip slip into his hand and launched a series of short flames over his shoulder at the beast. Most connected, but the monster only moved faster. Presea wished feverishly that she had her axe. The Sliver continued to gain on the two, by meters at a time.

And then without warning, the two had run into a cave, and the Sliver had bashed into the cavern mouth with a terrible crunch and a loud screech of pain and agony. Both teens stopped and looked back. The Sliver had opened its mouth all the way just before it had hit the cave, and it was clearly in pain as many of the front teeth in its mouth were either cracked or bent or just plain gone. The creature thrashed about, trying to free itself. After a few tense minutes, it withdrew from the mouth. Genis was sure it would squeeze through the mouth, but it instead retreated, yowling, into the snow outside.

Genis and Presea let out breaths they didn't know they had been holding. Genis watched the mouth of the cave.

"Good thing this cave was here."

Presea was looking around at the rest of the cave. Her eyes suddenly went wide, and she pulled Genis' arm.

"Genis! It's the Temple of Ice!"

"What?!"

Genis spun and took in the sight of the massive ice cave. The Temple of Ice, home to the Summon Spirit of Ice. Genis and Presea stared forwards into the cave, both reminiscing in one way or another about the last time they had come here.

"Genis, look-there's where you and Lloyd used the Tear to freeze the lake."

"And there's the bridge where you almost fell from when it cracked, Presea. Remember?"

"I remember. I think you tried to catch me from underneath."

"I honestly don't remember-I think I caught you."

"Well umm…I sort of landed on you…and knocked you over…"

"Oh. Well that explains a few things. Eheh…"

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_**So, there's the third chapter folks! Keep up the reviews and read on!**_


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for the long wait: it's a result of a large culmination of events that include final report cards, a cell-phone idiot-driver, a stint in the hospital, and two busted legs.

But anyways, here is the fourth (and final) chapter of Warmth of Ice. But I assure you, this is in no way the end of the story!

Disclaimer: Zefie doesn't own any part of Tales of Symphonia. Thanks.

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After nearly an hour of wandering around the massive cavern, trying to remember their way around, Genis and Presea stumbled across a large, sealed ice door. Genis laid his hand on the door, and took in a sudden gasp of air.

"This…there's unbelievably strong mana behind this door…I think this is where Celcius lives."

The door silently slid away without warning. Presea stepped inside first, then shivered terribly. Genis moved through the door and re-wrapped her in the flame cloak, taking another step forwards himself. The door slipped shut behind them.

There, in front of them, lay the altar of ice. A voice suddenly spoke out from the altar.

"You who possess the right of the pact. I am one unbound. If you wish to have my power, let us see if you can handle it."

There was an abrupt flash in the center of the room, and the form of the Summon Spirit of Ice, Celcius, rushed at the two.

She stopped a few feet away, noting the terrified looks on the two teens faces. Celcius stared.

"You are…you traveled with the last master of the pact, yes?"

Presea gulped, then replied. "Yes…we traveled with Sheena. Remember us? I'm Presea. And this is Genis."

Celcius looked them over, then sighed a bit, noticeably relaxing.

"How many years have passed? You look so much older than I remember."

"It's been three years, Celcius." Genis answered. "Almost to the day."

Celcius looked them over again, taking in their appearance.

"You look frozen stiff. Both of you."

Genis nodded. "We got stranded on Flanoiria two days ago. On my birthday."

"Oh that just sucks."

"You have no idea. Anyways, this blizzard outside has been causing problems, which is why we haven't already left. We ran in here running from a Sliver."

"Ugh…I hate those things. Granted, I can kill them easily, but they're still a pain."

Celcius moved a bit closer to the two before she spoke again. "So, you two need to get out of here, right?"

Genis was about to answer when Presea cut him off and spoke first. "Celcius, when you said 'you who possess the right of the pact', did you mean Genis?"

"Of course I did. Why?"

Genis and Presea stared at each other.

"Genis can…"

"…summon?"

Genis looked back at Celcius. "Are you sure?"

"There's no doubt. You have summoner's blood. At least some of it."

"So…I could, theoretically, make pacts? And summon?"

"Well duh. I thought you were the smart one in the group."

Genis looked at Presea, then let his whip slip down into his hand. Celcius noticed the move.

"Ah well…guess I should get out of here every few years anyways. You using that?"

Presea stared at Genis. "What are you doing?"

Genis looked back at her. "If I have Celcius' power, I could make the blizzard stop, and we could get back to Flanoir and out of here."

Presea turned to Celcius. "Can't you just stop it for us?"

"Sorry, doesn't work that way. I can use my powers for myself, but for doing favors without a pact, no-go."

Celcius took up a fighting stance. Genis let a bit of mana flow into his whip, which quivered in his hand.

"Presea, stand back."

Presea would have argued, but Genis' look told her it would be a good idea to get the hell out of the way of whatever he was about to cast, so she rushed away from him. Celcius had noticed a sudden change in Genis' mana.

"What are you-"

"Meteor Storm!"

The ceiling of the chamber abruptly fell in as a barrage of burning meteors shot down towards the room. Celcius stared.

"Oh shit!" she cursed as she began running, trying to dodge the meteors. She was fast, but Genis apparently wasn't going to give her time to escape, as he was already casting again.

"Explosion!"

A few seconds later, Celcius was flying backwards through the air away from the fiery ball of fire that had just blown her off her feet. She turned back towards Genis, rushing in, icicles forming around her hands.

"Freeze Lancer!"

A flurry of sharp icicles shot towards Genis. Just before they impacted, he began what seemed a graceful dance with the whip, neatly cutting or knocking aside the icicles. By this time, Celcius was nearly on top of him. Her foot moved as she kicked out.

"Swallow Dance!" Genis' hardened his whip, catching Celcius off guard and flipping her over as she tried to dodge. The summon spirit was back up in an instant, moving back towards Genis.

"Beast!"

Genis spun the hardened whip in a circle as the lion-like shockwave shot towards him, lessening the impact. Celcius rushed forwards again, and Genis ducked under the attack, intending to grab the Summon Spirit's wrist.

Instead, something very soft ended up in his hand. The whole battle seemed to freeze, and pretty much everyone present, Presea included, blushed a deep red color. Celcius made no move to free her breast from Genis hand, even though he wasn't exactly holding her there.

Then Celcius pressed herself harder into his hand, her battle-focused expression sliding into a dreamy one. Genis quickly retracted his hand, his face almost purple. Celcius, seeming to realize what she had been doing, colored quickly.

And then Genis held the tip of the straightened whip against Celcius' throat.

"Umm…I th-think I…win?"

There was a long and awkward silence, which was broken only when Presea broke into uncharacteristic and hysterical laughter.

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"So…wait, let me get this straight…you haven't done anything like that in _how long?_"

"Umm…four-thousand, five hundred, and thirty one days. If your dates are right, that is."

Genis, Presea, and the newly pacted-with Celcius were sitting in the center of the room. Genis had inquired as to why Celcius had acted in the fashion she had during the battle. Presea for her part thought the whole thing was the funniest thing she had ever heard.

Eventually, Celcius stood up. "I suppose it's time for you to be leaving Flanoiria, right?"

Genis nodded. Celcius slipped out of sight, into a whitish-haze, which floated towards Genis and phased into his body. Presea watched Genis carefully-something seemed to change as Celcius entered his body. Genis looked at her, his gaze seemingly unfocused. His eyes had become a bit of a lighter shade of blue. Presea shivered at his gaze for a moment.

"Genis, don't stare like that. It's like you're staring through me."

Genis stared for another few seconds, then seemed to refocus, shaking his head.

"Sorry Presea…I don't know what that was."

"It is alright. I was…simply strange. It wasn't an expression you usually use…sort of a desiring stare."

Genis blushed. "O-Oh…Umm…anyways, lets get out of here." He stood up and pulled Presea to her feet. As he did, their bodies connected for a moment as Presea kissed Genis' lips gently. Surprisingly, Genis' arms slipped around Presea's waist and held her there, deepening the kiss from a simply gesture to a passionate and almost sensual kiss.

After nearly forty-seconds, Genis finally pulled back, breathing a bit more raggedly. Presea's breathing had also changed a bit, and she looked up at Genis, who had suddenly gone a bit pale.

"S-sorry Presea…I…umm…I'm not sure why I…umm…"

Presea smiled an embarrassed smile. "I liked that. I didn't mind."

Both blushed a bit more. Presea held the flame cape a bit closer around herself as she and Genis headed back out the way they had came into the cavern.

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Now, it was at about this time that a familiar figure was making his final descent into the upper atmosphere of the planet. Kratos Aurion brushed a strand of his auburn hair behind his ear as he strengthened the mana shield around him that was to protect him from any damage by the passage through the atmosphere. He could see the landmasses below him slowly becoming recognizable. As he entered the lower atmosphere, he extended his translucent wings and slowed his descent to a stop, hovering about a thousand feet above the ground. He could see Flanoiria just below him, and Tethe'alla was a bit to his east, with Sylvarant in the west. Kratos looked around again, old memories flowing back.

"Hmph. Looks just like it did back then. Back at the beginning."

A sudden spike in mana caught Kratos' attention, and he turned towards Flanoiria. There seemed to be quite a bit of mana flowing out from somewhere on the continent. Kratos flapped his wings a few times and headed towards the snowy landmass. There was something familiar about that mana…

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"Genis, look out, on the left!"

Genis spun at Presea's call, sending a flurry of icy spikes at the approaching Sliver with a shout of "Freeze Lancer!". The Sliver crumpled to the ground and skidded a few more feet, but Genis had already moved to the next approaching worm.

When Presea and Genis had left the Temple of Ice, Genis had used Celcius' power to halt the blizzard, creating a hole in the raging wind and snow that moved with them as they walked.

Unfortunately, the sheltered gap in the blizzard had attracted a herd of Slivers, who were searching for shelter from the storm. So when they sensed a lack of storm somewhere, they all made a beeline for that spot.

Which led the young half-elf and the former-axeweilder to find themselves surrounded by a surge of ravenous Slivers. Presea stayed close to Genis, her short dagger in her hand, despite the fact that it would be of little use here. Genis, meanwhile, was sending an abhorrent amount of ice magic raining into the Slivers. Fire magic would have been better, but it was quickly discovered that Genis' ability to use fire magic had all but disappeared with the infusion of Celcius' power.

As another Sliver approached, Presea turned and gripped the blade of her dagger between two fingers and threw it towards the Sliver. The dagger spun through the air and embedded itself in one of the creature's eyes, causing it to thrash around, halting its charge and giving Genis enough time to rain icicles into it, ending any threat posed by it. Presea looked back at Genis, noticing a sudden change in his sense.

Then Genis suddenly stumbled, his knees hitting the deep snow around them as he gasped for air, coughing suddenly. Presea knelt next to him, noticing the sweat dripping from his brow, despite the freezing temperature.

"I can't…I can't keep casting…" was all the half-elf could bite out.

Presea looked around at the huge amount of dead Slivers around them and realized just how much mana Genis must have used recently-between the fight with Celcius and this fight with the Slivers, even Celcius' mana being added to Genis' couldn't sustain his power for long. Genis glanced up, seeing another Sliver approaching rapidly.

"Presea, run!"

Genis pushed Presea away from him, charging at the Sliver with his whip hardened for combat. He heard Presea yelling to him but he ignored her cries to stop as he leapt up with the last of his strength, bringing down the whip in a slash that cut across the Sliver's field of vision. As he did this, he let out a burst of wind magic that pierced nearly all of the creature's eyes. The Sliver let out a terrible yowl in pain as its eyes gushed greenish liquid. Genis landed on the ground, swaying on the spot.

Unfortunately, his attack hadn't halted the Sliver's advance, and in a flash of teeth and a roar, he had been thrown aside nearly twenty feet, vanishing into a snowdrift.

"GENIS!"

Presea screamed as she saw the half-elf flying through the air and hit the ground. She rushed as fast as she could to him, nearly falling onto him in her hurry. The snow around Genis was dark pink, and his left arm was a mess-there were cuts and scrapes all up and down it, and two jagged teeth were embedded in his upper arm. There was so much blood that it seemed his arm had been painted red. Genis face wasn't much better-his left cheek had a long cut down it, and his face was pale and white-he was out of mana. Presea heard the Sliver roar again behind her, and she could hear it coming closer. She threw herself over Genis to protect him, but she knew it was futile.

They were both going to die.

"P-Presea…I'm s-sorry…"

Presea felt tears in her eyes as she looked at Genis' strangely calm face as he looked up at her sadly.

"No Genis…I'm sorry…if I hadn't fallen from my Reihard..."

"That wasn't your fault...it was mine, I should have paid more attention..."

There was another roar, almost on top of them.

"I love you Genis."

"I know."

And then with a sudden screech and the sound of flesh being torn from bone like a butcher's knife on meat, the sounds of the Sliver's advance came to an abrupt halt and an eerie silence fell over the snowy wasteland.

"Whew...if I had been any later, Sage, you would have been Sliver food."

"Y-you!"

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Zelos pushed his king forwards another space on the chessboard.

"Checkmate, Sheena."

Sheena groaned and reset the board. Zelos' didn't make any real notation that he had won-he had won quite a few times in the last few days while the party waited in Flanoir for the blizzard to stop. The professor was looking out the window of the inn, out at the snowy wasteland, a cup of half-finished tea in her hands. Regal was noticeably absent-he had been forced to return to Altamira to run his company and explain why the party had not shown up. Lloyd and Colette were reading in a large chair by the fireplace, although it was clear that they weren't really focused on the book either. Zelos sighed and moved his pawn forward a couple of squares.

And then Raine let out a sudden shriek and rushed out of the inn, completely forgetting to grab her coat. Zelos looked up out the window.

"Hey! They're back!"

The whole room seemed to as one move to the door and out it into the snow. The blizzard still raged, but there, coming through the blinding whiteness was a small blue sphere. Just inside it was a young girl with pink pony-tails, carrying a young boy with pointed ears.

And just behind them was the auburn-haired angel, who had finally made good on his promise to arrive, holding a hand out to maintain the mana shield.

Raine rushed forwards, a wide smile across her face. Within a few seconds, she had screamed and moved even faster, entering the sphere of mana and cradling Genis' limp form, chanting rapidly and letting her healing powers flow. Kratos laid a hand on her shoulder as the others approached.

"I managed to heal most of his wounds, but he will need more power than I have at my disposal-Sliver venom is beyond my power to remove." He said.

Raine stared up at Kratos as Zelos winced. "Ouch…how bad were the bite marks to begin with?"

Presea gently pulled back the sleeve on Genis' robe, revealing a jagged, roughly healed scar traveling up and down the arm. Raine's eyes were transfixed on the scarring as she spoke.

"Kratos, did you bring the fangs? I'll need a sample of the venom to create an antidote."

Kratos withdrew the two jagged teeth that had torn into Genis' arm from his cloak and handed them to Raine, and within seconds the group was moving back towards the inn.

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"Mmmn…ugh…"

Genis woke up slowly, moving around on the soft surface of his bed. He felt a reassuring warmth near him and huddled a bit closer to it. The object cooed a bit-yup, that was Presea.

Genis looked down at his arm.

"Well, that could have been worse." He said simply. The half-elf rolled over, looking at the sleeping beauty next to him. For a moment, his eyes flashed a light blue haze, but they reverted a bit soon after. Genis gently kissed Presea's lips and cuddled back up to her, slowly slipping back into sleep's embrace.

Perhaps he could hold it back. For a little while at least.

But four thousand year old lust was a hard thing to keep hidden.

TO BE CONTINUED…

…IN _**Passion of Flame**_

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Well, there's the end of the first part folks. Look forward to the continuation much sooner than this chapter came! Now, I will warn you, this next story is a substory filler that takes place between the first story and the real sequel. Due to it's mature nature, read at your own risk (mature for adult themes). It sort of will 'set the stage' for the next big story.

Review still please! ZK


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